Flower

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Editing Flower[[1]]

[edit] Blooming of Amorphophallus titanum (corpse flower) at BBG

I cut the belly open. Saturday, August 12th, 2006 by Alessandro

Today's mission was to cut a small opening at the base of the spathe. I had to do this. There was no other way to reach the male flowers, which had started to shed their pollen. I cut open a small window... and this is what I saw.

The female flowers were all clustered at the bottom of the spathe; above them, the male flowers. I was surprised that the female flowers were so colorful. Each flower was shaped like a flask—with the belly of the flask a beautiful red color, the neck purple, and the mouth bright yellow. They looked like small, artisanal blown-glass masterpieces. They were in perfect shape, I have to say. I was happy to see that I hadn't smashed any the day before.

Above the female flowers, I saw the male flowers. They didn't look at all like typical "flowers," but rather like small yellow beads. I could see some fuzziness all over them. That was the pollen. I gently scraped the male flowers with a spatula. It was a great tool to work with: The pollen was sticky and came off easily. I placed it in a small plastic tube and put it in storage. Hopefully, there will be another bloom somewhere in the world soon, and our pollen will be used to pollinate it.

Baby looks different now. The spathe is closing up, but the plant still looks beautiful. Everything is going according to plan. Baby is doing exactly what she's supposed to do. One more day and the bloom should begin to collapse.

One thing I noticed is that the plant doesn't use much water. I watered several days ago, and soil is still moist.

I can't believe the show is almost over. It all happened so fast! [[2]]